We performed a comparison between Microsoft Bitlocker and Symantec Endpoint Encryption based on our users’ reviews in four categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison of Results: Based on the parameters we compared, Microsoft Bitlocker seems to be a superior solution. All other things being more or less equal, half of Symantec Endpoint Encryption reviewers found Symantec Endpoint Encryption to be difficult to deploy. Additionally, users of Symantec Endpoint Encryption find it difficult to upgrade. Finally, Symantec Endpoint Encryption’s users are not impressed with its technical support.
"It is free and native to the OS. We don't have to worry about upgrades or maintaining the product. You encrypt the disk, and you save the recovery key. That's it. The person puts their password in, and after that, it is up to them. If they forget their password, they have to bring it in to get it unlocked."
"Feature-wise we have the ability to encrypt fast."
"It maintains security on my computer. Since I travel a lot, it gives me confidence that if, for some reason, my computer is lost, my data won't be compromised."
"It is easy to use. It is usually easy to recover someone's privacy. The manageability is much easier than McAfee. I think that Microsoft is a leader in this area. We are in the Microsoft school so our judgment of McAfee will be a little bit unfair as we recommend Microsoft all the time because of the easy manageability and support. I think that McAfee is designed for a different customer and every time we open a ticket with their support, it takes a very, very long time. The main difference is just the manageability and support. In terms of the solution itself or the functionality, I know that McAfee is very strong, but manageability and support, for us, is much more important. It's strengthens the solution for us."
"Microsoft BitLocker can be used to ensure that stolen PCs or laptops do not lose their data."
"I like the simplicity and ease of use of this solution."
"The hard drive encryption is very good."
"It's my understanding that the initial setup is straightforward."
"The most valuable feature is that it works in the background so that the end-users are not aware of what is happening on the laptop."
"It is stable."
"The initial setup was easy."
"It helps us put antivirus solutions in place and prevent malware from getting to our machines."
"Overall Symantec Endpoint Encryption is a reasonable solution."
"The encryption feature is very good."
"The management console gives us the ability to quickly control who sees what, ensures we are on the latest version, and up-to-date."
"We can extend it to all of the critical endpoints and the servers, and we can ensure the confidentiality of the data."
"The people at the first level of support refer you to articles that do not pertain to the problem at hand."
"Technical support has not been very good."
"The biggest one for us is revoking access. So, even though someone downloads something to a device, we want the ability to cloak that device or data and bring it back or make that data unusable for that person. Currently, BitLocker doesn't give us that ability. It basically encrypts it. We're seeing if identity management or IAM allows us to do that. We're kind of looking at third-party software that does that for us."
"They should offer better login capabilities that are more secure."
"They could improve cloud integration regarding attribute and encryption key management."
"The solution should offer encryption for other items such as shared folders, removable media, etc."
"If integration with Active Directory are not mandatory for him, I think that there are many other solutions in the market that equal or are much stronger than Microsoft."
"There are options which could be implemented to make it a little more like PGP Whole Disk Encryption."
"The initial setup is a bit complex."
"The security could be improved."
"The product can be expensive. Price was a factor in moving away from the product."
"It's a bit difficult to get good support. Their response times are really bad."
"What I didn't find helpful in the version we used is the fact that all devices had to be on the same network for us to push through the encryption."
"It was hard to install and took us about three months."
"The solution presently doesn't let network folder encryption be done on Macintosh."
"The instability of the company and lack of presence in the Middle East is affecting product use."
Microsoft BitLocker is ranked 1st in Endpoint Encryption with 28 reviews while Symantec Endpoint Encryption is ranked 7th in Endpoint Encryption with 10 reviews. Microsoft BitLocker is rated 8.2, while Symantec Endpoint Encryption is rated 7.6. The top reviewer of Microsoft BitLocker writes "Encrypts fast, embedded in the OS, and is reliable". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Symantec Endpoint Encryption writes "Not user-friendly and lacks integration with ICT, but provides adequate protection". Microsoft BitLocker is most compared with ESET Endpoint Encryption, McAfee Complete Data Protection, Trend Micro Endpoint Encryption, WinMagic SecureDoc and Sophos SafeGuard, whereas Symantec Endpoint Encryption is most compared with McAfee Complete Data Protection, Cisco Secure Endpoint, Digital Guardian, Sophos SafeGuard and ESET Endpoint Encryption. See our Microsoft BitLocker vs. Symantec Endpoint Encryption report.
See our list of best Endpoint Encryption vendors.
We monitor all Endpoint Encryption reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.